Brontophobia
by Jounetsu-no-Hana
Summary: This is the story of Rikku's one week vacation in The Thunder Plains and the one least likely person who helps her through it.
1. Prologue

**So, here's the first chapter of my new story, Brontophobia. I was going to make it a oneshot, but I think I'll go by days. This is just the prologue. There's not really Rippal in here, but… sorta. It's more of how they became friends. So if you wanna read a Rippal make out session go read Smile Like You Mean It, or Memory of Lightwabes. But if not, stick right here:D Enjoy!**

_Brontophobia_

Chapter One

Rikku shrieked again as the sky was split by a flash of lightening. She ran at a breakneck speed, praying she wouldn't slip on the mud. The Mi'ihen Highroad hardly had storms this bad, and she had been caught in the middle of it when the storm started pelting down on her. She held her hands above her head to keep from getting too wet. Though she didn't care about getting wet, the one thing she hated most besides thunder was being cold. She finally came to the ruin of a machina city and stood under it, staring out at the raindrops that fell to the earth. There was nothing to do now but sit and wait for it to stop.

After about an hour of sitting there, Rikku was wondering if she should risk her life to get to the Travel Agency. She would die out here anyway; why not go out with a noble act? She was just preparing to make a run through death when Brother's voice blasted into her earpiece.

"Rikku! Where are you?" Rikku sighed and dropped her arms, even though there was a leap of joy sparking through her when she heard a voice she thought she would never find comforting. And yet, it was at a time like this. She put her finger to her earpiece and pushed the button to transmit a message.

"I'm on the Mi'ihen Highroad. By those ruins. Where are you?" she asked, letting the button go. Brother's voice boomed back into her ears. She worried her earpiece would break from his voice.

"The Travel Agency. Come and meet us here," he commanded. As soon as her earpiece beeped to show the transmission over, a long rumble started in the air. Rikku shrunk back into herself. The really loud ones always start soft. Sure enough, the rumble slowly became a loud, vibrating boom that seemed to go on for eternity. The metal above her shook and groaned a bit from the vibration. Rikku gasped and yelled when the thunder made its last _CRASH_. She frantically put her finger to her earpiece.

"I can't! I'll die, Brother! Come get me. Please?" she whimpered pitifully. There was no answer, and she was afraid her own blood would abandon her to the storm.

"You're pathetic. Nere will come get you," Brother said, his voice crackling. The signal was weak from the distance and rain. Rikku could leap in joy. She wouldn't have to run all the way to the Agency by herself. And even better, Nere was coming to get her! She didn't know how her brother had gotten such a stroke of kindness, or maybe he was clueless as to how a teenagers mind works.

In a few minutes, a small hovercraft pulled up to Rikku's sanctuary.

"Need a lift?" Nere asked, giving Rikku a grin. Ah Nere. Perfect Nere. The one that Rikku had been working with for six months now. He was just so… _perfect_. As she had already mentioned. She nodded earnestly and nearly leaped onto the hovercraft. She wrapped her arms tightly around Nere's waist and thanked Brother silently for being in a good enough mood to allow her a ride back to the Travel Agency.

Except, things aren't usually like that. Especially not now.

"Rikku! You're such a baby! When're you gonna get over this?" Cid asked, exasperated. Rikku linked her hands behind her back and scuffed her toe on the floor.

"I can't help it, Pops," she mumbled. She pointed to Brother. "It's _his_ fault anyway!"

"If that's all you got to say, then you're off the next assignment. No, in fact, you're off the team," Cid said. Rikku could only gape. Her father was dramatic but this was soap opera worthy!

"But-!"

"Rikku! The next assignment is in the Thunder Plains to calibrate them towers. Since you can't handle it, we're gonna to have to leave you behind. And I don't want you slowin' us down again. Until you can prove to me that you can get over this stupid fear o' yours, you are to stay at Home!" he said, turning away. The conversation was over. Everyone threw uncomfortable glances at her. She looked around, shaking her head a bit. Eventually she sighed and sulked off to one of the wooden chairs. She sat down heavily. She heard chair legs scuffing against the floor.

"Don't look so down. Your dad will get over this. He just didn't want to send out the hovercrafts. He knew that storm was dangerous," Nere said softly to Rikku. She smiled half heartedly.

"Yeah. I'm good at this stuff but… I guess I'm no good in the Thunder Plains," she said. Nere grinned at her.

"Well, don't worry; I'll be sure to tell you if your brother gets electrocuted," Nere said. Rikku laughed lightly. Her spirits were lifted a little bit. She pulled out a hand held keypad and typed a message to Yuna as Nere went back to finish putting away tools. Lately, the only way she could talk to Yuna was through short messages.

_Pops booted me cause of a storm. Guess I can visit you now._

She waited a few minutes and Yuna sent a message back.

**Aww. Will he let you back on?**

_Not unless I get over thundaphobia._

**Ha! Well, if you were desperate, I'm sure you could just ask Lulu to give you a shock.**

Rikku thought. Her eyes alighted as she figured out a plan that she almost hated and loved at the same time.

_You're a genius! Gotta go, bye!_

**Bye?**

She leaped up.

"I'm comin back baby, yeah!" she said, a little too loudly. The room went quiet and all eyes were on her. She looked around and grinned nervously. Nere smiled at her like she was one of the most interesting things on the earth. Rikku silently asked her brother, "You wanna go?" He immediately rolled his gaze away to a _voluptuous_ Al Bhed woman next to him, nodding his head at her. She scoffed and walked away. He pointed at her back and mouthed "Call me." Rikku rolled her eyes and ran to her room, stopping short first at Cid's door. "Dad! We gotta go home!" she said, rushing on to her room.

"What? What're you talkin' about, Rikku?" Cid asked. Rikku didn't answer. She jumped on her bed and started contemplating her plan. _Death. Hysteria. Happiness. Back on the job. No longer afraid of thunder. 2 to 3. I think we have our winner._ At that moment, Cid appeared at Rikku's door. "What in the world are you talkin' about Rik?" Cid asked.

"How to get over my fear, Pops! I could camp out in the Thunder Plains for a week and eventually I'll either be insane or I'll be over this… this…," Rikku fished for the right word. She could never remember what her dad called it.

"Brontophobia?" he offered. Rikku pointed at him.

"That's the one! Anyway, I really wanna be on the team, Pops! Just lemme go into the Thunder Plains and I'll get over this in two shakes. I promise," she said, holding her hand up. Cid ran his hand over the imaginary hair he had and stared at the ground. He thought for a minute, and then looked back up at Rikku.

"Fine. I'll let you go. But you have to promise me two things," Cid said. Rikku nodded and listened closely. "Okay. I want you to go with us for the day you first go out there. If you ever think you can't handle it in this week, I want you to come straight home. Don't try to play hero again Rikku, your mother tried to get rid of one of her fears by forcing it like this and it did not end well. Also, there's gonna be another team out there checking the more technical stuff on the towers and that's gonna take them a good full week. I don't want you getting in their way," Cid finished. Rikku nodded slowly and thought.

"That was three things, Pops," she said with a sly grin. He waved his hand at her. She tossed one of her braids behind her head and changed into pajamas instead of her wet shorts and shirt. Then she lay in bed and starting thinking about how stupid she was for committing herself to this.

She wasn't cut out for something like this. Sure, throw a fiend at her; she'll kick its ass any day. Fiends are predictable. She wasn't equipped to handle something that she couldn't avoid or predict. What was she going to bring? A tent? No, the storm would blow it away, unless she could pitch it up _really_ well. A camper would be a little… much. And that's not camping when she couldn't even hear the storm howling. How would she eat? No doubt it would be a little hard to start a fire in the Thunder Plains. Would she have to eat _space food_? Live off of a tube for the week? Think about that later. What was she supposed to do? Was she supposed to test herself out there, or did she have to just go about her normal days work. Her normal days work revolves around machina! She started getting jittery. She calmed down when she remembered that the Thunder Plains would be next week. She had one full week to plan it all out. With that, she crawled out of her bed and went back to the shop of the Agency. Nere was still there, to her relief.

"So, I'm going camping," she said with a grin, sitting across from him at the small coffee table. He raised one eyebrow.

"Really? Where?" he asked. Rikku's smile wavered for a second as she uttered the horrid name.

"The Thunder Plains," she stated as fearlessly as she could. This time both his eyebrows went up.

"You sure that's a good idea? A little… extreme?" he asked. Rikku grinned.

"I _live_ for extreme," she said, leaning back lazily in her chair. He grinned and picked up his cup of hot chocolate.

"I forgot," he said lowly before taking a sip of hot chocolate. He then held out the cup to her. "Want some?" he asked. Rikku's heart gave a little leap. What did she say? Yes? No, I'm afraid you have a disease, J-K? Instead of taking the chance and starting to _finally_ flirt with Nere, she said,

"Uh--ye…?" and took the cup, putting it to her lips for a moment and taking a small sip. She then put the cup back down on the table. Nere started laughing. "What?" she asked.

"Uhye!" he said, doing a bad impersonation of her. She started laughing too, in spite of herself.

"Shut up! I didn't want to hurt your feelings and make you think I'm a germaphobe," she stated plainly. He only laughed more at this.

"Too late," he said. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Meanie."

"Germaphobe." Rikku shook her head and looked away at the shelves of merchandise, biting her bottom lip to try to keep her smile away, and still failing. "So, when are you going on this lovely trip in nature?" he asked.

"Next week. I'm heading out with the team, and then when you guys are done there for the day, I'll stay. Do you know how to pitch a tent?" Rikku asked. Nere nodded. "Well...?" Rikku added dully.

"Yes!" Nere said with a grin.

"Good! Then you _are_ useful for something," Rikku said.

"I'm useful for things other than tents!" he stated. It was Rikku's turn to mimick.

"Rikkuuuuu?! How the hell do I make this thing work? I've been working on it for hooooooours!" she whined over exaggeratingly. Nere laughed, but stopped short when Cid snapped,

"Well!" behind him. Cid pointed a finger at Rikku. "Lil' Lady, you're _never_ gon' get married if you're gonna be havin' a mouth like that!" Rikku stared at her father, astonished. He was _really_ behind if he thought Rikku would still be getting married in a year or two. When he made his departure, Nere turned back to Rikku with a laugh. She could only shake her head.

"I think I'll be sent to a Yevonite convent someday," she said faintly, pressing her fingers to her reddening cheeks.

She and Nere continued conversation for a while longer before she started yawning.

"You can't go to sleep, Rikku! You told me you wanted to watch the sunset," Nere said. She looked confused at him.

"What time is it?" she mumbled. He turned and looked at the clock.

"Four forty-five," he said. Rikku rubbed her eyes.

"Alright, let's go then," she said, standing up.

They sat there, watching the sun slowly dip down into the bay in front of them. Rikku eventually nestled down onto Nere's shoulder. She closed her eyes for only a few minutes. Until she felt Nere start to tickle the tip of her nose. She scrunched her nose up.

"Don't go to sleeeep…," he whispered.

"I won't. I promise," she replied. She stayed awake until the sun had disappeared under the horizon line to go awaken another part of Spira. With that, she closed her eyes against the dusk and fell asleep.

Storms really take it out of you.

She awoke safe in her bed the next day, remembering only a little of how Brother had come outside and insisted on taking Rikku to bed, telling Nere that he would _never_ be in his sisters room, tried to lift Rikku, and failed. And Rikku remembered being gathered effortlessly into Nere's arms and carried to her bed, where he kissed her forehead and said goodnight to her. She hugged her pillow. Oh yeah. But she only remembered a little bit.

**Update (7/1): Yeah, oh damn, I just remembered that Home was destroyed... I don't know how to fix it, so I'll just leave it as it is. Just call it a stupid writer moment.**


	2. Day 1

**So, here is chapter two of Brontophobia. Gippal makes his appearance in this one, never fear. So, here we go with day one.**

_Day One_

Rikku continued to pack her bag, ignoring Brother leaning on the doorframe, watching her and shaking his head.

"Do you _need_ something?" Rikku asked, as she stopped packing and straightened to look at him. Brother shook his head.

"I just can't believe you're going to do this," he said. "It's so unlike you to step up to a challenge." She looked at him, appalled.

"You say taking part in kicking Sin's _ass_ isn't stepping up to a challenge? Agreeing to go take a summoner and her guardians? Swimming in the ocean for some underwater ruins? Friggin fighting Aeons-?" she said.

"Alright, alright! I just… didn't expect you would do something like this. I'm a little worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt," Brother mumbled."Aww," Rikku said, holding her arms out, "you _do_ have a heart!" She started to run at him for a hug. He shooed her away.

"Eurg, I wouldn't have said that if I knew you were gonna go chick on me!" he said, running from her room. She smiled after him. There was one way to get him out of her room. She reached under her pillow and pulled out her old diary. She always kept it with her, for reasons that she was too sentimental to toss it, but didn't want anyone to see her thoughts and handwriting from when she was ten. She stuffed it into her bag. She finally looked at everything she had and her checklist then, with a satisfying zip, closed the bag.

Tomorrow. She would go with the team tomorrow to set up her tent and get situated, then, they would leave her there. Maybe she would know someone in the team that was staying for a week. If something went wrong, she could go to them for help. She was determined not to leave those Plains for a week. This was the only way unless she wanted to get shocked by Lulu or live for the rest of her life with a fear of thunder.

She came out of her room to see Cid pacing.

"You worried about me too Pops?" she inquired. He nodded.

"I just don't think you're ready to be goin' out and campin' in no less the Thunder Plains with no one to take care of you. What if fiends attack?" he said.

"I'll be fine, Dad. Really," she replied. She was surprised that she had actually called him 'dad', but this was a sentimental moment. She could spare it for once. She hugged him tightly.

Sometimes, she wished she could be little Rikku with pigtails again who held onto her daddy's leg when she was scared. Little Rikku who could sit on his knee and have him tell stories of the great person she would be when she grew up. And sometimes, it pained her heart to know that she hadn't turned out to be any of the things her father had told her she'd become. But it didn't matter anymore. She knew her father was proud of her 70 of the time. It was just not the same proud she would have had if she had been the daddy's little girl he'd told her she'd be. She finally tore away from his hug and skipped off through the streets of Luca, looking to kill time. She finally found the team, packing things into an airship for tomorrow. She walked over to Nere.

"I'm kinda scared," she said. He turned and grinned.

"Don't be. It's only a week," he stated, handing a crate to one of the men. Rikku sighed.

"I'm trying not to show it, because I don't want my dad and brother to worry about me but… I'm _really_ freaked out. What if I get hit? Tidus got hit, like, a zillion times!" she said, getting agitated. "And you were the only person I thought to come to, because you're the only person I would talk to about this and… rrgh!" She was getting sentimental with _everyone_ today.

"Aw, you got me right here, kid," he said, pounding his heart with his fist. _Kid? Why is that familiar…?_ She suddenly felt a hand close around her wrist and tug her forward. She gasped as she was encased in Nere's arms. She nervously hugged him back, soon relaxing and squeezing tight. She let all of her fears slip away. She would be fine, as long as she could come back and Nere would be waiting for her. She pulled away from him, feeling a blush starting at her toes.

"I gotta go. I just remembered I forgot to pack something," she claimed, turning around and waving over her shoulder.

"See ya," Nere called after her. As soon as she was out of sight, she ran the rest of the way to her home, bursting through the door with a squeal.

"Rikku! What's wrong?" Brother asked.

"Nothing! Nothing at all, Mo Bro!" she said. Brother ran his hand over his Mohawk with a confused look, and then turned back to his book on machina.

Rikku woke up the next day and threw back her drapes. It was only dawn. She went to her lamp and turned the switch. Soon as she did, the light bulb popped and went out in a flash of light. She jumped back, and then remembered. Today, she would be going out into the Thunder Plains. She was overcome by regret.

And screamed.

Later that day, Cid asked her for the tenth time if she was sure she was alright. She nodded weakly.

"Just getting a little airsick, Pops," she said. He looked confused.

"You've never gotten airsick before," he stated.

"Well, you know. Flying on an empty stomach. It's… really… bad…," she ended feebly. Cid walked away, shaking his head.

The airship was left by the Moonflow, and they had to walk the rest of the way. Rikku walked silently through Guadosalam, trying to keep the disdain from her face. Her burning hate for the Guado was not how everyone felt, but just about everybody had their head down and tight lips. Rikku continued to wonder if she could do this. She didn't worry about whether or not she should anymore, because she knew she wanted to do this. She just was afraid if she would get too scared.

"Aww, don't worry, Rik! I'll be right here waiting to give you a kiss when you get back," said an annoying voice behind Rikku. She sighed.

"Not now, Gail. I'm kinda not in the mood for you," she said. Gail. Nere's brother, who had only been tagging after her trying to get her into his 'net' of love since she started the team. Nere's younger, ugly, aggravating brother.

"Come on, baby. When are you gonna let fate take hold of you?" he asked, putting his arms out in a way of displaying himself. Rikku rolled her eyes.

"If you were four years older, you would have two percent more chance. That would get you up to a whoppin' three percent! Dream on, kid," she said, turning away again.

"You could always invite me along on your trip. I would keep you warm _every_ night," he continued. Rikku gaped.

"_You_ are the most pervish little kid I have every met!" she said, shoving him into a wall. Sometimes, she wished she could kick that kid's ass without having to worry about getting in trouble.

"Just one of my many charms, babe," he said with a smile full of crooked teeth. She turned away and flipped him off over her shoulder. Her hands itched near her grenades, but she pulled them away and clung tight to her duffel bag. Someday that kid would get what's coming to him.

They got to the entrance to the Thunder Plains and Rikku stood still, gazing out with fear. Her knees shook slightly, and she was afraid she wouldn't even be able to go out. But soon, she took a rigid step forward, then another, and was soon walking stiffly beside her father. She flinched her chin towards her shoulder every time the lightening flashed, but tried her hardest not to cry out. This was the beginning. While the team started getting to work on the towers, Rikku helped Nere pitch the tent. They nearly buried the stakes into the ground. Rikku didn't know what she would do if her tent blew away. She sure wasn't going to go to the Travel Agency. Even though it wasn't far away, she didn't want to admit defeat. She was sure she could do this if she only tried her very best. It took them about forty five minutes to pitch the tent –since the wind was blowing it around so much- and the team was done by then. She laid her bed roll out on the floor and put her pillow inside. She looked at it, then around the tent. It wasn't a castle, but it was nice enough. At least it was warm inside. She crawled out and grinned at Nere.

"Thanks for the help. I'm hopeless with anything that can't be done with machina," she said. Nere waved a dismissive hand.

"It's no problem. I'm gonna miss you," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. She smiled.

"I would miss you, but I think I'm gonna have too much to think about," she said. Lightening flashed about a mile away, and Rikku could see the sparks from where it had hit. She shrieked, and then covered her mouth with her hand. She clenched her teeth and tried to think of something else. The desert. Lying in the sand by the oasis. Spending time with Yuna. It didn't work. She thought instead about terrible things. Her mother dying. Home on fire. Tidus and Auron disappearing. She felt tears sting her eyes. Her mother wouldn't have wanted her to do this. She would have told her she was fine the way she was. She suspected that Nere wouldn't be able to tell if she was crying, but she made the mistake of whimpering slightly in her tears.

"Don't cry, Rikku. Everything will be fine," Nere said. He put his hands on both sides of her face and moved it so she looked up at him. She stared up at him, suddenly afraid. Then, he kissed her lightly, pulling away for a second then coming back down on her lips. As soon as it began, it was over, and Rikku's eyes fluttered open. "Maybe you'll think of me during the week now," he said. Rikku grinned at him as he turned around and went to the rest of the group. The group looked suddenly larger, and Rikku realized that the other team to work on the technical things for the towers had joined the group. Brother was talking to a tall Al Bhed she couldn't see, so she decided she'd say goodbye to him later. She went to Cid and smiled up at him.

"Well… here we go," she said, looking over Cid's shoulder at the camp the other team was setting up. Cid nodded.

"You be careful. You hear me? No doin' anything reckless or somethin' like that. That's how stupid people get killed. And you're not stupid," Cid coached her. She nodded with a faraway look in her eye.

"Bye Pops," she said, hugging him. He patted her twice on the head, then went over to help back the tools again. Brother came over to Rikku.

"Extra," he said, tossing a grenade to Rikku. He was insanely lucky she was a good catch, because it just saved him from having whatever brains he had from being blown up. She put it in the bag at her hip and turned back to him.

"Thanks," she said, grinning. "I guess you don't want a sentimental goodbye like Pops did, so I'm just gonna say, see ya at the end of the week," she finished. He looked relieved.

"Later," he said, quirkily waving at her from over his shoulder. She shook her head. Mom might've been ashamed of him. The other team's leader yelled orders above all the noise, and Rikku was impressed. It took quite a voice to yell that loud, but the voice struck a chord in her heart. It made her… annoyed. She looked for the source, but she couldn't find it. She sighed and flinched as the thunder crashed again. She hurriedly crawled into the tent. From here on, she was on her own.

She looked at her clock. It was six o clock. She couldn't stay in her tent forever. She had to go for a walk. Do something significant. She slowly crawled out and looked around, waiting for some lightening to touch down on her head. When nothing came, she squeezed her eyes shut. She had been in the tent for about three hours and was just about to explode from lack of movement. She stood up tall and screamed up to the storm,

"Hah! I'm not afraid of you!" As if in answer to her pathetic attempt at braveness, the thunder cracked as loud as ever, sending Rikku shivering back into her tent. After a few minutes, she emerged again, silently apologizing to the storm, and crept along the path. She jumped and flinched at every flash, and screamed freely since there was no one around.

But these assumptions of hers were always wrong.

She saw, only about ten feet away, a man standing under the rain, his face turned up to the sky. He looked like an Al Bhed, so she guessed he was from the other team. She took a few steps towards him.

"Hello?" she called. He didn't move. "Hello?!" She cried louder. He turned with a confused look. Rikku got closer until the mist of the rain cleared away. Then, she gasped. "Oh my-!" she started, putting a hand to her heart. He squinted at her.

"You're Brother's sister, right? Yeah, can't forget that voice," he said, turning his face back to the rain. Rikku put her fists on her hips. She couldn't tell if that was an insult or a compliment, but coming from _his_ mouth, it was probably an insult. She smoothed her wet hair down.

"What was your name again? Oh, right, Gill," she said, staring icily at him. He sneered at her.

"Gippal. I don't even remember your name. Something with a T," he said.

"Rikku," she reminded him. She knew he hadn't forgotten. Everyone knew about her and Brother because of Cid.

"Right. Rikku. So, what've you been up to for the past three years?" he asked, turning his face away from the sky and taking a few steps toward her.

"You can't just ask me what I've been 'up to' after how you treated me!" she said. This was outrageous. Gippal was the last person she would ever want to see if she was stuck in the Thunder Plains for a week. She considered packing up and leaving now if she had to be around him _all week_. But she pushed that thought away. This was another thing sent to test her. And she would _not_ give in. This was to get rid of all the things she hated. Gippal would be one of them.

"Why not? It's in the past," he stated. Rikku shook her head.

"You were so mean to me! You made fun of me and pulled my hair and threw water balloons at me. I bet you're still as arrogant and annoying as you were," she said.

"Didn't your dad ever tell you that's what boys do when they like you?" he asked, quite obviously teasing her. She couldn't stand him trying to act so familiar with her. Sure they were familiar, but in the worst possible way. She could rip his head off here and now if his skin wasn't so slippery.

"Well if you must know, I've been doing the normal stuff. Like, becoming a guardian, kicking Sin's ass, and fixing machina. You know. Fun stuff like that. And what have you been doing?" she asked. He shrugged. He didn't seem bothered by her curt tone.

"I started the Machine Faction. I got bored sitting around after the whole Crimson Squad thing, so…," he trailed off. They stood in silence for a little while. They both started talking at once, followed by silence again. "Go ahead," Gippal said. Rikku nodded. She didn't know why this was so uncomfortable. Maybe because he was trying to be _civilized_, and it was just making the tension thicker. She opened her mouth to talk, when lightening streaked across the sky, illuminating Gippal's face. That same face that she had had nightmares about when she was younger. She went down to the ground and hugged her knees with a cry. "Whoa, what the hell?" Gippal said, as he kneeled in front of her.

"Don't you _dare_ laugh at me. Don't you laugh at me ever again!" Rikku said, her chin on her knees. She turned her body away from Gippal. Then, she stood up and ran back to her tent. She curled up inside and took out a small box of cereal. Angrily ripping it open, she dove her hand into it and stuffed some into her mouth. "I hate him… I hate him_ so_ much!" she mumbled to herself, pretending every crunch of cereal was another piece of his little 'machine faction' chipping away. When she finished, she crawled into her sleeping bag and smacked her head down onto her pillow, covering her head with the blanket.

Things were starting off great.

**So yeah, I like this fic, but nobody else seems to like anything I'm writing anymore. :( Maybe it's just because it hasn't picked up yet. Well, ihdem haqd desa!**


	3. Days 2 and 3

**Yeah so I haven't updated in a while. Sorry! This is a bit odd, this series. But I shall continue it! D**

Day 2

Rikku couldn't sleep all night. She had conveniently forgotten any kind of plushie that would help her through the lonely, howling nights. And so, she had curled up in the sleeping bag and convinced herself it was all just a dream.

She woke up the next day to—more rain. And more thunder. The sky said good morning to her by flashing loudly above her head. She gasped and covered her head with the pillow. Her heart was beating fast and she couldn't make it stop no matter how hard she tried to calm herself. She bit her bottom lip and clutched tightly to her sleeping bag, waiting for the fear to go away. But it didn't. It wouldn't. Not unless she tried. She slowly crawled out and glanced around. The rain was a bit lighter today, but the thunder was just as fierce. There was a man at the top of a tower, and Gippal was watching from the ground. Despite her hatred of being anywhere near Gippal, she walked over and stood next to him to watch the man. He glanced momentarily at her.

"You're _still_ here?" he asked. She scrunched her nose.

"Too scared to go up there yourself?" she countered, changing the subject. He laughed a bit.

"Now where would my team be if I got shot down from a tower by a little blonde squirt?" he asked, turning slightly towards her.

"On the ground begging _me_ to be their leader instead of you," she stated.

"Not a morning person, huh?"

"No." Gippal stood in silence for a minute, then turned around.

"Let's go for a walk," he said. He started to walk away.

"What about him?" Rikku asked, pointing up at the Al Bhed. Gippal considered him for a second, and then waved his hand at him. Rikku shook her head. And this is the guy Cid had been praising so much on the way over? Rikku shuffled after him, not sure why she was.

They had been walking for a few minutes when Gippal spoke up.

"You know what the last thing you said to me was?" he asked. She looked at him, awaiting him to go on. "I came to your place to say goodbye to Brother, and you came out and asked me where I was going. I told you I was going to the Crimson Squad and you said 'Good, I hope you don't come back'." He was grinning a little bit. Rikku felt a little ashamed. She had promised never to wish death on anyone. Nobody _deserved_ to die. Not even Gippal, as horrible as he was.

"How do you remember that?" she asked quietly. He shrugged.

"I think I told myself that I would make sure I stayed alive so I could come back to Home and rub in your face that I didn't die," he said. Rikku turned red.

"Your life really did revolve around teasing me, didn't it?" she asked. He shrugged.

"I never hated you like you hated me. I actually thought you were a pretty nice kid. That's just what stupid boys like me did. Annoy their friend's younger sisters," he said. Rikku felt stunned. She always had thought that his reason for being mean to her was because they mutually didn't like each other. Now she knew that it was all one sided. "Well, hate me," he added, correcting the beginning of his sentence. Rikku was suddenly finding it hard to hate him right now. He wasn't treating her like an insignificant child like he used to. Just, like she was a person he knew a long time ago. Lightening flashed about five yards away, and Rikku jumped. Out of impulse, she reached out and grabbed Gippal's arm, hiding her face in his sleeve. After a second, she gasped and let go of him.

"Sorry…," she mumbled, staring at the ground to hide her pink cheeks.

"I forgot that you don't like thunder. To tell you the truth, I don't like it much either. I hate coming out to this place. That's also why _I'm_ not the one on top of those towers," he said with a grin. It seemed a little… reassuring to Rikku. She was trying hard not to forget that this was the one person she had hated the most since she was five, but it was becoming hard seeing the person he'd grown into. She offered a small smile back.

Rikku's shoes were covered in mud, and she kept flinching every time the lightening flashed. She squeezed her eyes shut and brought her chin down into her chest, her fists going underneath her chin. It was the same position she had been in when Brother had hit her with a lightening spell, and now it was the same position she went into whenever she was afraid. She suddenly felt a hand on her head, and she looked up. Gippal rustled her ponytail around. "Don't worry. You'll get over this," he said. She smiled genuinely at him. At that moment, if she could have picked anyone else to be her brother, it would have been him. They walked along, trying to remember all the things that Gippal had ever done to Rikku and Rikku tried to remember all the revenge she had taken on him. "I remember the one that I got so mad at you for," Gippal said with a smile. "My mom had gotten me that toy gun that shot water, and you somehow broke the barrel off. I really thought you were a demon that day." Rikku laughed.

"That was only because you ripped three pages out of the machina book my dad gave me. That was six pages of machina goodness ripped out," she retaliated.

"Because you took my eye patch and threw it into the oasis," Gippal added. Rikku grinned mischievously.

"That time was because that girl that you liked was watching," she said. Gippal lightly pushed her.

"You know, you haven't screamed this whole time," he said. She shrugged. She had been laughing a little too much to pay attention to the thunder.

"I never notice it if I have something else to think about. Which isn't often since I'm in the middle of the fricken Thunder Plains. The only reason I did this was because Pops kicked me off the team. Because he had to send a hover out to get me when a storm hit the Mi'ihen Highroad and I was too scared to get to Rin's," she said. "I guess there had to be more reasons for me doing this, but that's what sprung the whole thing."

"Maybe it was time for _you_ to have an adventure," Gippal said.

"I _have_ had adventures," she said hesitantly.

"None that are your own." Rikku nodded absentmindedly. Her own adventure.

They came back to the workers, and Rikku watched them in fascination until she said goodbye to Gippal and went back to her own tent to take refuge from the rain. She pulled her hair out of its ponytail, thinking about how excited she was to talk to Gippal again. Surprises were being thrown at her so quickly, it was almost elating.

**That was obviously too short to be a chapter, so here comes day three.**

Day Three

Rikku was being shaken. She groaned and turned over.

"Goway Pops, I'm shleepin'…," she grumbled.

"Wake up! I'm so _bored_!" Rikku's eyes snapped open.

"My-!" she sat up and stared at Gippal. "What the hell are you doing in my tent?" she asked, pulling the blanket in her sleeping bag up to her chin.

"I told you, I'm bored. Al Bhed's are already hyper enough, and it doesn't help that I'm wired. Come on, get up!" he urged her, pushing her shoulder. She eventually tumbled out of bed and looked at the clock.

"It's five o'clock in the morning, Gippal," she said with a yawn.

"I know! And I've been awake for five hours! Everyone fell asleep on me," he said, looking glum.

"So you decided to come wake _me_ up?" she asked. She didn't understand why they had one conversation and he was waking her up to talk to her now, but she was already awake, so why not? Maybe it was time for a change of heart along with lifestyle. He only nodded in response. She sighed and got back into her sleeping bag. "Just gimme five more minutes," she said. Gippal was completely silent, but she heard him move a bit. When she opened her eyes again, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Gippal was sitting on the ground and reading from her journal, a wicked grin playing across his lips. "What are you doing? Give that back!" Rikku said, getting out of her bed and advancing on him. Gippal put his knee up so that it went into Rikku stomach and held her at bay, while she reached helplessly for the thin notebook.

"No way, this is just getting good. So you in fact _didn't _hate me as much as you say you did," he said, pointing to a page in the journal as he held it out of her reach.

"What?" Rikku asked in disbelief as she stopped reaching for the journal momentarily. She hadn't read her old journal in so many years she didn't even remember what was inside. He pointed to the sentence again.

"'Gippal is so mean to me, but sometimes he can be nice. He gave me a lollipop today and actually apologized for putting sand in my hair. That's why I like him. Dad always told me never to like jerks like him, but on the days he's nice to me, I like him a lot'," Gippal read loudly from the journal. Rikku fell over him, reaching for the journal.

"Shut up! I didn't write that!"

"Yes you did!"  
"No I didn't! Give it back!" Gippal closed the journal and put it down on the ground, then, pushed Rikku so she was on the ground.

"How're you gonna get it back now?" he asked. Rikku wriggled under his grip, and realizing she couldn't, glared up at Gippal's wry smile.

"Gippal! Gerroff of me," she said. He shook his head.

"So. Did you really _liiiiike_ me?" he asked in a girlish voice. Rikku stuck her tongue out at him.

"I definitely don't now," she said. She finally put all those muscles she had gotten over the past year and pushed him as hard as she could. He fell back, sounding surprised, then grabbed the journal and held it close.

"C'mon, tell me! Did you want me to kiiiiiss you?" he asked. Rikku couldn't help but laugh. It was all too funny that she was just remembering now that she _had_ had a huge crush on Gippal despite how much she hated him as well. It was a very odd feeling.

"Did _you_ like _me_?" she asked suddenly, smirking at him. He thought.

"Nah," he said.

"_What_?" she squeaked.

"Your teeth were crooked, you had all these freckles, your hair was always a mess and you were kinda pudgy," he said. Rikku scoffed.

"Well if _that's_ what you think of me-!" she said.

"No, because now you're-," Gippal stopped halfway through his sentence.

"Now I'm what?" she asked, a little anxious. She closed her eyes momentarily and imagined kissing Nere again, him telling her she was beautiful, gorgeous, anything that would make her heart melt coming from Nere.

"Different…," Gippal said, handing the journal to her. She snatched it away and held it close to her.

"You will never see this again," she said with a grin, waving it in front of his face before holding it close again. He shook his head.

"I'll get it somehow," he said. "Until then, I'll just have to learn more about what you're like now."

Later that day, Gippal had gone to work on the second and third tower with the rest of his team. Rikku went the other way, stopping next to a small crater made by a particularly large bit of lightening. She was afraid being out here on her own. The rain misted her view, and she couldn't see if fiends were coming. She had brought a bracelet that Cid gave her. He told her that it would keep fiends away. But Rikku didn't believe there was anything that could keep fiends away. And Brother had given her a ward that would halve lightening damage, but she was still afraid. Cutting it in half was _not enough_. She stared up at the sky and let the rain splatter across her face. Things were already getting better. She didn't expect it to be this easy. Maybe there was a trick to it that she had stumbled upon.

Maybe it was because Gippal was there. She felt comfortable with him, though she would have never expected to a few days ago. He was easier to get along with than when they were nine and ten. She still couldn't believe he had left for the Crimson Squad when he was fifteen. Of course she hadn't missed him then. But now she wondered why not. Sometimes she liked the attention. At least they didn't ignore her. Maybe she was just insane.

She missed Nere. She missed everything about him. She wanted to hug him again. But then there was the issue that there was nothing solid between them. Just a kiss before Rikku went away for a week. She sighed. She hadn't been in many relationships, mainly for the reasons that she didn't have the time to care for a relationship and she just was plain not good at them. She had told a boy she would marry him once. Hopefully he had forgotten and wouldn't come to Cid someday asking for permission to marry her. Cid would happily say yes.

She squinted into the darkness and saw something propped against a rock. She took hesitant steps toward it. She couldn't tell what it was, so she put out a hesitant hand to touch it. He hand collided with a smooth surface. She came a bit closer to it and stared at it until her eyes focused to the details of it and then she gasped, falling back towards the tower behind her. She had _touched_ a human skeleton. She squealed and hopped from foot to foot. She couldn't handle seeing dead people. Not after Home was destroyed. She had seen people she knew, and children, dead among the rubble. She never wanted to see so much death again.

She ran back to her tent and snuggled up inside it. After a few minutes of shivering and crying over Home, she pulled out her journal and turned to the first page. _'I hate Gippal. I hate him so much I hope he goes blind.' _The threats of a nine year old. Well, she got half of her wish. She spent the night reading her entries of what used to be her life, nothing compared to what it was like now, until she couldn't keep her eyes open. She slept peacefully, but not before setting her alarm clock for 3 o clock in the morning.


	4. Day 4

Day Four

**Day Four**

Rikku woke up to her buzzer and quickly smacked it off. She eagerly got out of bed and crept out of her tent, heading towards Gippal's small cluster of tents. Rikku could tell which one was Gippal's because it was the only one that wasn't tan. Instead, it was pink and purple. Rikku rolled her eyes. This was so typical of him, it wasn't even funny. She quietly unzipped it and looked inside. She eventually saw his figure, his shoulders gently rising and falling. There was virtually nothing in his tent except for a clock and a small stack of papers. She grinned and closed the flap slowly behind her. She approached his sleeping form slowly, staring at him in the small light available to her eyes, even though they were already used to the dark. She watched his face. He really hadn't changed much in the past three years. Or since he was ten. He still had an odd boyish charm about him that made you think the moment you saw him was one of the popular guys, but the reason for him being popular was unexplainable. Rikku still was proud that her hair was a deeper, more golden blonde than his. His was closer to platinum. But she could never understand how he wore all the odd clothing he did and not look like he escaped from the circus in it. It was a talent. She got into position, and then pounced, landing across him. He tried spastically to sit up with no result since Rikku was sprawled across him.

"What the hell?!" he yelled.

"Wake up Gippal! I'm boooooored," she mimicked.

"Cid's Girl?" he said, rubbing his eye. She pursed her lips.

"My name is _Rikku_! Get it right, you…you, you, you _big meanie_!" she said. Gippal laughed groggily.

"Still not a major in the comeback department," he said. She sneered.

"You'll get what's coming to you," she said.

"How 'bout a cup of caffeine?"

"Fresh out. Sorry."

"Man, service sucks here, Kid. I should just go outside and get shocked. That'll wake anyone up," he said. Rikku shivered. The thought of it made her spine lock up and her heart beat quickly. They sat in silence for a few seconds, Gippal rubbing his eyes and groaning a few times. Then, he rolled over onto his side. "Well, night then," he said.

"What? You can't go to sleep! I just woke you up! Come on, wake up, please?" Rikku begged, pushing on his shoulder. He sighed and sat up again roughly.

"Jeez, I wake you up one time and now you're getting _revenge_on me," he said. Rikku somehow only _just_ noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. She handed the gray thermal shirt to him, and he tugged it over his head. His hair popped out of the neckline comically.

"Revenge is best served _cold_," she said with a grin.

They went outside into the rain and took a long walk down to the Travel Agency. Rikku stared at it with longing. Gippal turned to her, and watched her eyes shining from the lights in the Agency for a few moments. Gippal and she both knew that she couldn't go in there.

"I'll only be a few minutes. You want me to get you something?" he asked. Rikku sniffled against the rain.

"A chocolate bar would mean the world to me right now," she suggested, smiling weakly at him. He nodded with a smile and went into the shop. Rikku watched the door for as long as she could to avoid looking at the Plains behind her. She had nothing else to think about now. These 'few minutes' he spoke of would be an eternity out here by herself. She clutched her elbows and trembled. She finally forced herself to turn around and stare at the vast expanse before her. She tried to count the towers. One. Two. Four. Wait… what?

She sighed raggedly and tried to think of something else, since she obviously didn't have the mental ability to count towers at the moment. The adrenaline of being out in the middle of the Thunder Plains was taking over all of her other functions. She thought of the Moonflow. Besides the desert, the Moonflow was Rikku's favorite place in Spira. Once, she had gone with Yuna to see the river light up from the pyreflies. It had been the first time she realized that the Al Bhed were not welcome in Spira. They had all watched her like she was a wild animal's baby. You want to believeit's cute, but then you remember what it will grow into. For the longest time, she had been ashamed of her eyes. Her eyes were what gave it all away. And she couldn't stand them. If she ever went out with Yuna, she kept her eyes downcast, and she had a second wardrobe of clothes from normal shops in Spira. And then, a group of Al Bhed were murdered in Macalania forest when Rikku was nine. She couldn't believe what had happened. And from then on, she had been proud to be Al Bhed. She believed that just because they didn't follow Yevons teachings didn't make them bad people. They were just trying to change the world their way. Was that terrible?

Thinking of this slightly comforted Rikku. The religious barrier had been broken between Spira and the Al Bhed. She could talk to people and not have them ignore her. Most people in Spira hadn't talked to Al Bhed only because it was frowned upon by some of the more hard core Yevonites. But there was still an uneasy feeling between them all. Rikku wanted to do something to change the world again.

Just as she started brainstorming ideas of how to go about doing this all by herself, Gippal exited the Agency and handed Rikku a chocolate bar.

"Oooou, I _love _you!" she cried. She ripped open the chocolate bar and started wolfing it down. Gippal was silent next to her. She looked at him quickly and saw a smile plastered on his face. She realized what she said was a little odd, having only been his friendish hater for two days, and quickly thought of what to say. "Kidding! I kid sometimes. You know, I think I'm kind of… funny…," she said.

"You're hilarious," Gippal stated. She nodded in a 'that's that' sort of way and stuffed half the chocolate bar into her mouth, savoring the taste. Rikku never understood the truth behind the saying, 'diamonds are a girl's best friend'. Personally, she thought that chocolate was a pretty damn good friend. You can take guilty pleasure in it, and it will never tell a soul.

Suddenly, thunder crashed louder than ever. She almost dropped her chocolate bar as her fists went under her chin in a self secure way of protecting herself. She knew it would never work, but it made her believe she was okay. The thunder kept rolling on and on, for what seemed like forever. She whimpered softly enough so that Gippal couldn't hear her. She didn't want him to know how afraid she was, even if he already did. If he already knew, then she could still pretend he didn't.

They got back to the camps and Rikku nearly leaped into Gippal's tent, falling on his bed and covering herself with his blanket. Gippal entered in a much more graceful manner and looked at her in his bed. He raised one eyebrow and grinned at her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"You've got a fleece blanket. I've got that swishy nylonish stuff. There's a big difference. I like _your_blanket better," she said. He shrugged and sat down next to the bed, sipping his hot coffee. Rikku wrinkled her nose. "How can you drink that stuff? It's so bitter and… _yurgh_," she finished. He grinned.

"One day, you shall see the glory of coffee, child," he said. She 'humphed' at him.

"I'm not a child," she mumbled, wrapping herself in the blanket. He chuckled, and then sipped it again.

"So, Cid's Girl-."

"Rikku!"

"Yeah, whatever. You got a boyfriend?" he asked. Rikku sat up straight and tried to look alluring as possible.

"Why? Thinking of looking me up next time you're in Luca?" she asked. She was kidding, but it sounded like that was what he was thinking.

"No. I'm just curious," he said, arranging a pile of stones he had scooped up from the ground outside. Rikku slouched again and shrugged.

"Sort of," she said.

_"Sort of?"_ he repeated.

"Yeah. He kissed me before the team left. I don't know what it _means_ for us. But there had been nothing between us before that," she said. She thought about how melodramatic she sounded, and was embarrassed by her matters of the heart. "Anyway, why's it your business anyway?" she asked, turning away from him.

"It's not. I just thought maybe I'd try to make some _conversation_with you. It's huge out in Bevelle, you should try it with someone you don't hate," he said, tumbling down his pebble palace.

"I have plenty of conversations!"

"Yeah, but then you never shut up," he said, resting his elbow on his knee and his chin in his palm.

"Fine! Then I won't talk," she said.

"Works fine for me," he said, restarting his rock castle. Rikku watched him for a moment.

"You know, you're _really_ annoying," she said. "I can't figure out why _anyone_likes you." With a swipe of his hand, Gippal's rocks were out of order again. Rikku rolled her eyes. Boys. They could be _so_ dramatic sometimes. Even worse than girls.

"I thought you weren't talking!" Gippal said. Rikku shrugged.

"I changed my mind." Gippal threw up his arms in exasperation. They sat in silence for a few more moments, Rikku watching Gippal's construction. He finally finished and glanced around the tent. He finally picked up a twig and placed it in the center of the structure, making a flag. Rikku grinned, but then a large crack came from the sky. She saw the flash outside, and it illuminated everything going from all white to color. She felt like she was in a horror film. She gasped and covered her head with the blanket. She shivered under it for a few seconds, and then felt the blanket slowly being pulled away from her. Then, she felt something strange. Familiar, but different. It scared her.

Gippal was kissing her. She didn't know what to make of it. She didn't want to make _anything_ of it. It was too _weird_. Her lips were just sitting there, unresponsive. She stared blankly at his one closed eye. He finally pulled away from her, and she could only stare at him. Then, she screeched and slapped him across the face.

"Jeez, I was only trying to help!" he said, still nursing the red stop on his face.

"How could you have been _helping_ me by… doing… _that_?" Rikku asked awkwardly, huddled up in a corner with the blanket wrapped around her protectively.

"You told me that you didn't notice the thunder when you were thinking about other things. Now you have a small distraction. But before you fall _too_head over heels, that was strictly business," he said. Rikku threw one of the stray pebbles on the ground at him.

"How can you be _so_ _arrogant_?" she asked. He easily avoided the pebble. It _had_ distracted her. But she never wanted to be distracted like that again. _Ever_. It may have been one of the worst experiences of her life. He laughed.

"Pretend I'm that guy you like," he said.

"Nere," she corrected, watching Gippal's pebble palace.

"Wait… you like _Nere_?" Gippal asked. Rikku slapped her forehead with her palm. Of _course_Gippal knew Nere. That's just how lucky Rikku was, right?

"Yes," she said softly. Gippal sighed and shook his head.

"They all fall for him. Every single one," he said.

"Huh?"

"Nere's a total player. Just like me," he said with a proud grin. Rikku scoffed.

"Nere is _not_ a player. He's actually _human_, unlike you. He cares about how _other people_feel," she said, turning a bit away from Gippal.

"Believe what you want. The played never believe they're being… played," he ended weakly, falling onto his back and putting his hands behind his head.

"I know when I'm being played," Rikku countered, staring at the ceiling. "I know that you've been playing me the past few days," she added, glancing slyly at him. "But I'm not buying it for one second, _kid_," she ended. Gippal scoffed this time.

"Because I _want_to play Cid's girl," Gippal said sarcastically.

"Ahah! You're getting defensive! You liiikeme," she said. She sounded like she was five again. Gippal flipped over and rested on his elbows, regarding her with a bland look.

"What if I said I do?" he asked, a grin on his face.

"Then I wouldn't believe you," Rikku said, shrugging sweetly. "It takes more than three days to start liking someone."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm _positive_," Rikku said, trying to end the conversation. "He's _not_a player." Gippal shook his head and turned back onto his back, staring at the ceiling. He suddenly groaned angrily. "What?" Rikku asked.

"I have to go back out there in an _hour_," he mumbled. "That's not enough time for me to wake up…," he continued. Rikku shook her head.

"Well I have to go out there sometime… find whatever courage I have," Rikku said.

"Oh, you have plenty of courage. Stop fishing for compliments," Gippal said lazily.

"I'm not. I'm not fishing for compliments, and I'm not brave either. _Desperation_ made me come out here. I want back on that team, and I'm gonna get over this fear to get there."

"Then that's all you need."

"What?"

"All you need is something driving you towards your goal. Then, you'll do just fine." Rikku smiled at him. All she needed was something driving her. And maybe someone to help her through it all.

**Yay, I got reviews! Thank you so so much, I love you guys! It makes me happy, haha! Anyway, I will be trying to update more. I just sorta stopped after a while. And now I'm starting again! D**


	5. Half of Day 5

Day Five

**Hey. Wow, so I haven't updated in about 3 months. But, you know, here it is!**

**Half of Day Five**

Rikku sighed her exasperation as another bolt of thunder illuminated her tent. She wanted to cry, scream, or jump around, but she couldn't decide which, and by the time she did, she would be out of time. She glanced around her tent. Her clock read 4:30. Which wouldn't have been a problem until she got to the part that said AM. She had been so exhausted these past few days mainly because she couldn't sleep through an entire night. Especially since the rain and thunder got really loud around dawn. Something about that time.

She had decided to be kind and let Gippal sleep in today. They hadn't gotten back from trekking out to the final lightening tower until around one o'clock. Gippal had decided randomly to start working backwards. Soon, they would end up next to camp again. Rikku was wondering if they would be done by the end of the week. She shrugged and pulled out a small cardboard box of cereal. She ripped it open and tipped it over into her mouth. Fruity Pebbles. Only the best.

When she finished her cereal, she tugged her hair up into a wispy ponytail. She worked up her courage, and then poked her head outside.

Nothing happened. Except the rain pelted down on her. _Hard_. But it felt like the thunder had just… stopped. She hesitantly crawled out and stood hunched over, untrusting of the sky's calmness. She then felt a dull rumble under her feet. Something in her head told her to run right back into her tent. But her feet wouldn't listen. Her knees buckled. Her hips stiffened. She stared wide – eyed in apprehension at the sky. She knew it was coming. The rumble under her feet was getting loud; she could feel the vibrations in her bones. The electricity was building up quickly, and painfully slow at the same time. Rikku felt like she was in slow motion as the lightening finally struck out.

She shrieked as the bolt hit the ground just feet away from her tent. She could feel the electricity pop near her skin, she could taste it in her mouth, she could smell it. Electricity was something that she lived by. It was her biggest fear and her best friend. It empowered machina. It made her feel small. It made her life easier. It made it harder. She loved it when she could control it. She hated it when it was wild.

She retreated into her tent in a flash and hid her head in her pillow. She could taste the tears in her mouth. She was crying from fear and frustration. She could have been hit by that bolt. That's all she could think about. How she could have been hit by lightening and nobody would be there to save her that time. No one would get a doctor to save her. She'd be alone. But then there was her frustration. If she didn't get over her fear of lightening, she would be off the team. She would have to stay home and do nothing like Brother always said she should. Cid would have mixed feelings about it. He would probably think she would have more of a chance of getting married. But that was Cid. Of course he would. He lives in a medieval state of mind. She wouldn't see Nere anymore. That was half of the reason she was out there. Partly to prove to him that she could do this. That she wasn't afraid. And partly to assure herself that she would be able to keep seeing him. She wasn't sure how she would feel if she didn't see him anymore, but she knew that it wouldn't be something she could just brush off her shoulder. She knew she would miss him.

Which set her off on all these other thoughts. She had been suspecting long before she had come there that this was all just a small crush. Nothing major. But then what was the feeling in the pit of her stomach when he had kissed her? Maybe it wasn't just a crush. But she didn't suspect it was much more. Rikku wasn't one for those star-crossed lovers or any kind of dramatic love story kinds of things. Fantasies were not something she was swayed by. She tried to look at life as maturely as she could. Even if she did have an incurable obsession with monkeys. Cid had told her many times not to grow up too fast. But how was that possible when it was considered immature to try not to grow up too fast? Rikku felt surrounded by the word "mature". Just like she was surrounded with "perfect". She really didn't want to be mature. But she had to. It was something mentally required of her.

Which also drove her out onto these plains. She needed to overcome her fear. Because fear is something that the team saw as the trait of a child. Rikku knew they were all afraid of _something_. But they were all better at hiding it. For her, they used the stupid excuse that girls are just not cut out for working on machina. Pah. As if they were better than her. She could dismantle a machina and put it back together in 5 seconds flat. She eventually brought her face up and wiped away the tears on her face._ There's no way that I'm going to be over this by the end of the week._

She started to hum a song. Any song. Something that would take her mind off of it. She finally chose the song of the fayth. It calmed her, even though the song of the fayth wasn't something that Al Bheds were particularly supposed to listen to. She stared at the tent. She willed her legs to move. But every time she felt the jolt of her mind telling her legs it was time to get up, her mentality yelled back at them to stay where they were. No way for her to get hurt if she didn't move right?

Right… no way to feel better either. This was impossible. If only there was some way she could just forget that she was ever afraid of thunder. Then, there wouldn't be this problem. She felt _anger _flooding in her. She wanted to scream. She wanted to do _something_ before she exploded with every emotion she had in her mind. She finally burst out of her tent and squeezed her eyes shut as the rain pelted on her face. The ground was rumbling with a challenging air about it. The sky was gathering its electricity for another bolt to come crashing her way. It had missed the first time. It had resolved to not let it happen again. Rikku clenched her teeth and her fists. She turned her face up to the sky and felt the rain hit her skin harder.

"I _hate_ you! I hate you sky! I hate you thunder! I hate you rain! I _hate_ you! You've ruined everything! I'll never get to work with machina again and it's _all your fault!_" She sank to her knees. "I _hate_ you…," she mumbled pathetically. Her eyes were hidden in the palms of her hands. The sky rumbled in reply. She frowned. It was as if she had conversations with the thunder. She insulted it, and it released its wrath. She gave into it and… well, it wasn't much different. She would definitely need therapy. She considered waking Gippal up. She looked at the clock. 6:30. He'd be awake by now anyway. He was an early riser. She poked her head out again. She didn't bother to look in the mirror at her reflection. She already knew her eyes were red from crying, underneath them it was all puffy. Basically, she didn't look attractive at all. But who cares? It was Gippal.

She ran as fast as she dared to Gippal's tent. Loud cracks of thunder urged her on. Urged or threatened. She finally got there after what felt like she was in syrup or slow motion. Then, she quickly unzipped it and jumped in, zipping it closed behind her. She sunk down and closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. She opened her eyes to see Gippal staring at her with a half amused half worried expression. She tried out a smile. She knew it looked entirely fake. He was sitting up in his sleeping bag. He didn't have a shirt on. He never slept with one on. But something looked different. Suddenly, he furrowed his eyebrows and reached next to him, hiding his face from her for a moment. She saw him slip his black eye patch on over his right eye.

"What's wrong?" Gippal asked her as he looked back up. She took a deep breath.

"The thunder… it almost got me," she whispered in a cracked voice.

"Want a hug?" he asked, holding his arms open to her. It was odd to her, but she crawled over and allowed herself to be encased in his arms. She didn't try to hug him back. She just wanted to be warmed. She rested her head against his bare chest and listened to his slow heartbeat. It slowed hers a bit as well. "Feel better?" he asked as he released her. She grinned weakly and shrugged.

"A little," she said. He smiled at her. She felt better just from that.

"So, what's the first thing you're gonna do after you get home?" Gippal asked her, settling back down into his sleeping bag and tugging his thermal shirt over his head.

"Make out with Nere," Rikku said with an impish smile.

"Yuck," Gippal said, tossing his pillow at her. She caught it and put it in her lap, wrapping her arms around it. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Just because you don't have anyone to make out with doesn't mean you have to take it out on other people," she said to him.

"I could always make out with you," he said, raising his eyebrows to her.

"Yes please," she said temptingly. He started to crawl towards her. She leaped away quickly. "Kidding! I was only kidding!" she yelled. Gippal laughed and leaned back down. He then pulled his blanket over his face.

"I don't want to go to work today…," he moaned. Rikku pulled the blanket off his face.

"Well, you gotta. Because you're eighteen. And you have a job now because of that," she said. He tugged it over his face again.

"I've only been eighteen for a week," he said.

"That doesn't change the fact that you have to have a job."

"Only if you're an Al Bhed. I wish I was just a regular Spiran," he mumbled. Rikku sat back on her knees, a stunned expression on her face.

"Are you ashamed to be Al Bhed?" she asked. He sat up, a cold expression on his face. Rikku recoiled mentally a bit. She hadn't seen an expression like that on his face before. It made him look more intimidating than ever.

"Don't _ever_ say that. Why would I ever be ashamed of being Al Bhed?" he asked.

"I don't know. You sounded like you don't want to be," Rikku said in a hushed voice. She stared at her hands.

"Sorry… it's just… sometimes it bugs me the way people treat us," he said.

"That's okay. Me too," Rikku said. She looked up at the top of the tent. "So, I was wondering… how can you stand working at the Machine Faction?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're always so wired, so how do you stand working there? I mean I know that you guys _never_ travel unless it's really important. So, what's the deal?"

"Well, I need money. It's the truth of it all. It doesn't matter whether I like my job or not. As long as it pays the bills, then it's alright."

"Oh. Well, I won't be like you. I'm going to travel. Maybe I'll be a sphere hunter or something like that."

"You don't get money for being a sphere hunter! You'll starve!" Gippal said in disbelief.

"Watch me! I'll be the best sphere hunter you've ever seen! You'll hear about me all over the place." Gippal smiled.

"You know Cid's Girl…" he started.

"What?"

"I… I really hope I do," he said, turning his eyes to hers. She watched him for a minute.

"You're making fun of me aren't you?" she asked.

"No, I mean it!" She grinned, satisfied.

"You will. Just you wait," she yawned and settled down onto his sleeping bag. "I'll be the most famous sphere hunter ever. Because I'll find… some big secret in a sphere. And I'll save Spira. Yup. And you'll see me on TV and you'll get to say, 'Hey I know her!'" She felt a cover fall over her lightly. She snuggled up to it. Then, she felt Gippal's lips touch her cheek lightly. They were a shock, but not completely terrible. It was sweet.

"I know," he whispered in her ear before leaving the tent.


	6. The Rest of Day 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Aly and Aj's song, ****Like Whoa**.

Rest of Day 5

Rikku opened her eyes slowly. _This isn't my tent… what the… OH!_ Realization dawned over her. She pulled Gippal's down blanket closer around her shoulders and snuggled closer into his pillow. She didn't mind that it wasn't hers. It was better than her nylon sleeping bag. She sat up after a few minutes and poked her hand under his pillow. She felt something solid, but her hand couldn't grasp it. She put her hand inside the pillowcase and gripped the rectangular object. She pulled it out and looked at it. She grinned.

A mirror. Perfect.

She perched it up with the kickstand on the back and started to braid small locks of hair. She then tied up her hair and looked at herself. Good enough. She touched her hair. She had never exactly figured out how to shower. She had been considering just doing it in the rain, until she learned that other people would be there. She then decided, maybe when they were all asleep. But then when she learned Gippal was a slight insomniac, that plan was _definitely _out. So, she basically hadn't showered for four days. And it felt disgusting. But, nobody really noticed. She had become a hermit the past few days. The only thing that kept her on with reality was Gippal talking to her. Else she would have been out of there awhile ago. Socializing was Rikku's life besides machina and adventures.

She crawled out of the tent after she tugged on her shoes and looked at the sky. The rain was only a light mist for one reason or another. But there was still thunder. She heard the rumble start as soon as she emerged and she stuck her head back into the tent. She clenched her fists. She couldn't do it. She only had a day and a half left, and she was still terrified. She would fail. Even if she would improve a little bit, she would have to camp out in the Thunder Plains for months if she ever wanted to truly be free of her fear.

She didn't hear Gippal come into the tent. She also didn't feel the tears slipping down her face. She had gotten so used to the rain that she couldn't really tell the difference between the rain and her tears until she tasted the salt of them. She felt Gippal's hand on the nape of her neck. It went comfortingly back and forth along her neck.

"You okay?" he asked. Rikku shook her head.

"I'll never be ready. I'm never gonna get over this," she stated. She felt Gippal take her hand.

"Fine. Then I'll help you. The next two days I devote myself to curing you," he said with a sweet smile to her. She wiped her tears away with the back of her free hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked weakly as she stood up.

"For a walk. Don't worry. I'll take care of you."

The rain had gotten harder. They walked for awhile in silence, Gippal's grip comforting on her hand. She soon started to drone, thinking about a thousand things. Mostly how much her opinion had changed about him over the past week. She hated him in the beginning. But after talking to him for less than an hour, he turned into an object of fascination to her. She speculated and wondered about him. About how he changed so much since she had last seen him. Then, he became one of the most important things to her over the rest of the week. Maybe her craving for a familiar face was what it was. Or maybe it was genuinely _him_. Maybe she _actually _really liked… him. She thought more on this until suddenly she was spun around and pressed close to Gippal's chest. There was a crash behind her. She squeezed her eyes shut and shrieked. She knew that she had almost been hit by the lightening. How had he known? She eventually found the courage to open her eyes and looked up at him. She was watching her carefully.

"Thanks," she said with a weak smile to him. He looked at her carefully. Then Rikku realized that he was coming closer. Slowly, but he was. She didn't know what to do. It wasn't unexpected this time like the first time. But this time she wasn't sure what to do. If she _wanted_ to reject him. What if she _really_ liked him? What if him kissing her again would prove something to her? She resolved quickly and felt her eyelids starting to slide closed when she was released completely by Gippal.

"You're welcome," he mumbled. She blinked and then followed him as he started to walk again. She heard thunder in the distance and grabbed Gippal's hand. His head whipped into her direction. Rikku was afraid he would take his hand away. She didn't mean anything by it. She was just scared. Instead, he gripped it tightly. She sighed quietly.

Eventually they came to the shelter. She remembered this place. The same place Yuna had told them she was going to marry Seymour. Rikku could still see Tidus's face. She sometimes had wished someone would care for her that much.

Gippal leaned his back against the inside of it and looked out into the distance. Rikku leaned her side against a pole and watched the rain. She was only too aware of Gippal behind her. Was he looking at her? What was he thinking?

Then she thought too.

What was _she_ thinking?

What happened to Nere?

She still liked him. A lot. She knew she did.

But… she also could admit to herself now that she liked Gippal.

She hesitantly took a step out into the rain. Then another. And another. Soon, she was about two yards away from the cover. She turned her face to the sky and felt the rain pelt down on her face. She licked her lips and tasted the unusual taste of the Thunder Plains rain water. She didn't know why, but everywhere the rain tasted different to her. The Thunder Plains was sweet sort of. It had a sweet kick to it. Like she tasted it and it stung her tongue a bit. Maybe it was the constant electricity in the air.

"You know what Cid's Girl?" Gippal said behind her.

"Yeah?" she called back to him.

"I'm trying _really_ hard not to kiss you again," he said hesitantly. She took a deep breath and slowly turned around. He was much closer than she had thought. He had moved up to the edge of the shelter. She breathed in a few more times and then tilted her head to the side a bit.

"Then why don't you?" she asked. He furrowed his brow and took a few steps forward into the rain and in front of her.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Kiss me," she said. It sounded to her more like a command than a clarification of what she meant. And it kind of scared her.

Gippal didn't ask twice though. He quickly put both his hands at the back of her head and pulled her to him, pressing his lips urgently to hers. She couldn't think for a moment. She couldn't breathe. She didn't know _what_ to do. Eventually, she sorted out her thoughts. She took a deep breath through her nose and closed her eyes. She slowly started to respond to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist since he was a little too tall for her to put her arms around his neck. She pulled herself up closer to him. This wasn't right. But it wasn't wrong.

It was true now. She definitely liked him. But she hardly knew what to make of it. Could they actually make a good couple? And besides… all she wanted all week was to go home and hug Nere and tell him she missed him like hell. And he would kiss her and finally ask her out and then they'd be the perfect couple anybody had ever seen.

But then Mr. Machine Faction came along and turned things upside down. She didn't doubt her feelings on Nere at all. But she did doubt her overall judgment on people. Maybe she was wrong about Nere? She had been about Gippal.

His lips were soft against hers and she felt sudden warmth in her stomach that caused her to abandon her safe hold on his waist and switch to around his neck. It pulled her even closer and Gippal's mouth opened over hers. She opened hers as well, against her better judgment, and was carried away in it all. She let her instinct take over. She didn't let her thoughts get in the way. This _was_ something she wanted. Otherwise, she wouldn't have invited it. And she promised herself she would have no regrets of it later.

Of course, that's not how it turned out.

When she got back to her tent, she plopped her head down into her pillow and squeezed out whatever tears she had left. She felt like she had betrayed Nere. And herself. There had been no awkward moments between her and Gippal after it was over, and they spent a good four hours talking in his tent. But once she was alone, she felt all the regret come. She suddenly tugged out her old journal and took out the one blue ink pen she brought with her. She started to turn through all the kiddish writing, all the pages that were all about nothing. About what was going through a ten year olds mind which all seemed insignificant as to what was happening now. But then, it was relevant. Once again, there would be one more update about Gippal. She found a blank page and clicked the pen. She started to furiously write.

_Life is good I can't complain  
I mean I could but no one's listening  
His image overwhelms my brain, and it feels good_

_Like a rollercoaster ride  
Holding on my knuckles white whoa, whoa  
Can't believe I'm like whoa, whoa  
Every time I'm like  
Up and down and side to side  
Every inch of me is like whoa, whoa  
Got me feeling like whoa, whoa  
_

_In the morning it begins again  
Feels like I'm falling, better strap me in  
I think I'm running out of oxygen, and it feels good_

_Like a roller coaster ride  
Like I'm running a red light  
Like a rocket ship is like  
Every inch of me is like WHOA!_

She took a breath and retired her pen. She read over the entry. There. If he ever stole her journal again, he wouldn't know it was about him. She looked at the clock. 1:34. One day left. She flopped down onto the pillow and turned off her lamp.

One more day. Then, if she played her cards right, she'd never have to see Gippal again.

**Well, now that it's summer, I have more time to update. And, I'm playing Final Fantasy X-2 again, so I know Rikku's character again. Just a few more chapters!**


	7. Day 6

**I'm updating! I really am! I'm sorry I haven't updated this in a year! D: I'm so, so, so, so, SO sorry! I hope you forgive me and I hope people still want to read this. xD Pwease? Enjoy!**

**Day 6**

Rikku jumped and took a deep gasp as the zipper to her tent whipped open. She yelped as something landed right in her face. She looked at it. It was a sleeping bag. She looked up then. Gippal climbed through her tent hole and zipped it back up.

"I-you-_what_?" she spluttered out.

"The team _abandoned me_, and then took the liberty of packing up my tent for me," Gippal spat irritably. Rikku just stared at him with disbelief, her mouth a perfect 'O' and then looked at his sleeping bag.

"You-tent-uh?" She wanted to slap her face into her hands. Gippal gave her a crooked smile, and she wasn't sure what to do next.

"Use your words, Princess," he said. She frowned at him.

"Why are you in _my tent_?" she asked. "With your sleeping bag?"

"I'm moving in," Gippal said simply.

"No, you're not!" Rikku said. She took his sleeping bag and unzipped her tent flap, pitching it out into the storm. He stared at the opening as she zipped it back closed, his sleeping bag easily being picked up by the howling winds. Rikku immediately regretted it as she realized what his solution would be. He shrugged and gave her his lopsided grin again.

"Okay. I'll just share yours then."

"No! You can sleep… on the ground," she said.

"I need a sleeping bag," Gippal said solemnly. It was quite possible that he was more high-maintenance than a girl.

"What, afraid to get dirt in your hair?" she asked. Gippal imitated her, and she did the same, until he unexpectedly grabbed her by the waist. She screamed as he unzipped the opening and then grinned at her. "You wouldn't," she growled. He kissed her cheek.

"I certainly would," he said. He tossed her out of the tent. She landed on her butt perfectly in a small patch of mud. It jumped up all the way to her face and gave her some streaks across it like army paint. Lightening crashed around her, and her eyesight went in and out in her fear. She heard another one crash to the ground nearby. Right in front of her. She curled her legs up, then stood up and turned just in time to see Gippal close the gap in the tent. She ran to the zipper and tugged. It wouldn't budge.

"_Gippal_!" she screamed. Lightening crashed behind her. She felt a zap and tingles up her spine. She took a deep breath. That wasn't fear tingling. That was electricity-jumping-through-raindrops-onto-her-slick-clothes tingling. She used her newly filled lungs to scream as loud as she could.

"You've got some impressive lungs there, Cid's Girl. It's too bad you're such a terrible singer," Gippal yelled from inside.

"Shut up and let me in!" she yelped.

"Go get my sleeping bag!" he said.

"You can have mine! Just let me in!" she screamed. More lightening crashed. She was going to die, and she knew it. And her biggest regret? That the only person nearby was going to be Gippal.

"No, I want mine. I've got some lovely memories in that sleeping bag," Gippal said.

"….. Ew." Gippal laughed.

"Now _go get it_!" he said.

"I can wait you out," she said. Actually, she couldn't. She would be on her knees begging in a few minutes.

"I have no problem just sitting here. Listening to you screaming myname," Gippal said. Rikku rolled her eyes. She was most definitely not taking him seriously when she was stuck outside, in the lightening, fearing for her life.

"You're gross."

"You asked for it," Gippal said. "You shouldn't have thrown my sleeping bag out." She didn't say anything. "The sooner you go and get it, the sooner your can come back in here. With me." Rikku sighed in aggravation and let go of the zipper, standing up. "I knew you'd see my side. I'll be waiting impatiently."

"Crid ib, cdibet," she said. (Shut up, stupid.)

"Ooooh, here come the insults," Gippal said. She rolled her eyes and was about to take a step, but the sky had other plans. She saw the lightening hit the ground a few meters in front of her, and she yelped and danced from foot to foot. She then knelt down at the zipper.

"I'll give you a kiss if you let me in," she said.

"You would have kissed me anyway," Gippal said arrogantly.

"That is _so_ not-."

"It's _so_ true," Gippal said in a girlish voice.

"I'll have you know that when I got back to my tent yesterday, I decided I was not going to kiss you ever again," Rikku said. She closed her eyes immediately. She had been hoping she wasn't going to open that can of worms ever with Gippal.

"Why not?" Gippal asked.

"Because I decided that I don't _actually_ like you," she said. "I just miss Nere so much that I'm using you as a replacement." Gippal didn't say anything. "And it's just weird. You're like my brother, y'know?" He still didn't say anything. "So… we're friends?"

"…" She was afraid he wasn't going to answer. "Yeah. We're friends." He actually sounded like he meant it. Rikku's eyebrows went up in surprise. Could Gippal handle being rejected by _anyone_? "But you still have to go find my sleeping bag." Rikku sighed and looked out at the storm. She saw his sleeping bag latched to a lightening tower, and she took a deep breath, then screamed a battle cry. She ran out at the tower, and she heard the tent zip open. Gippal was going to watch. She kept screaming anyway, even though it developed from a battle cry to a 'holy Spira, I'm going to die' scream. She grabbed the sleeping bag and stood under the tower for a second. Gippal gave her a thumbs up, and she ran back to the tent, throwing the sleeping bag at him and diving into the tent. He rolled on to his back, cackling, as she tried to catch her breath.

"You… are so… _mean_," she said.

"But you didn't get hit by lightening," Gippal said. "You're alive." She stared at him in shock.

"Yeah… well…" she snuggled up into her sleeping bag. "Night."

"It's only… 5," Gippal said.

"I'm tired," she said. "And I get to leave tomorrow. If I sleep until then, then…" She didn't finish her sentence. She was furious with him. He had barricaded her out of her _own tent_. And now, he was telling her when she could and couldn't _sleep_? Who does he think he _is_? She huffed in her sleeping bag, then yelped as it was unzipped. Her wet clothes were hit by the chill of the tent until Gippal slipped in, making it warmer than ever, and re-zipped it. "_What_ are you _doing_?" she asked.

"My sleeping bag is all wet," he said cuddling into her.

"So I just went and got it… for _nothing_?" she asked.

"Well… now you're covered in mud," Gippal said.

"Thanks. Thanks so much." Rikku wiped some mud caked to her face. It just spread it around mostly.

"Don't try to blame this on me!" Gippal said. "It's your fault for throwing it out into the storm."

"It's your fault for trying to move in here."

"It's your fault for making me care enough about you to want to make sure you're okay," Gippal said. The clockwork in Rikku's brain turned quickly, searching for a good response.

"It's _your_ fault for trying to coach Brother on his aim," Rikku said. It was a commonly known fact that Rikku's fear was not entirely on Brother's shoulders. At least… it was commonly known to _her._ She just repressed the memory mostly, so she didn't hold it against him. Much. Gippal had only been trying to help, anyway. However, with his _one eye_, he was a bit lacking in aim. And Brother should have known better than to take his advice on this. Nevertheless… That thunder spell had gone horribly awry.

"I'm _sorry_, o_kay_?" he asked.

"I know you're sorry," she said, rolling and turning away from him. "And I forgive you." Gippal took a piece of her hair and looped it around his finger. She shivered. "But still… I'm out here."

"And you're doing fine," Gippal told her. She turned to him.

"You're really bipolar, you know that?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"It happens," he said. He shimmied out of her sleeping bag then, and it was significantly colder in it. He unrolled his own sleeping bag and smiled at her before getting into it. She _almost_ wanted to invite him back into it. But then again, she didn't. "Gross… this smells like a wet Chocobo." Rikku started to giggle uncontrollably. "It wasn't _that_ funny." Gippal stared at her until he started laughing too. He died out before her and turned the lamp off, snuggling into his –soaking wet- sleeping bag. Rikku continued to laugh, unable to stop now. But they just came in short spurts until she laughed herself to sleep.

She woke up about an hour later. She heard Gippal's slow breathing and knew that he was asleep. So, she just laid there. Then, she sighed and stood up. She carefully stepped over Gippal and unzipped the tent. A hand gripped her ankle.

"Where you goin'?" he asked sleepily.

"I'm just going out for a minute," she said.

"But… storm?"

"I have to pee," she said dully. He let go of her ankle and by all appearances fell asleep again. She stepped out into the icy rain and crouched there for a second as she quietly re-zipped the tent flaps. She heard lightening, and it made her heartbeat skip a few times, but… she couldn't run away. Because there was no impulse. No fear. She had no idea what had happened, but suddenly, something switched in her mind. And she wasn't scared.

She walked out into the storm and stood under a tower. She stared at a puddle with confusion written across her face. There was no way she could just… not be afraid anymore, right? There had to be a reason.

Was it the staying there for a week? She shook her head. There had been no progress until that day. So what was it? Lightening flashed, and for once, she appreciated it. She appreciated how, no matter how dark it was out there, when there was lightening, she could see everything. For miles. Her mouth dropped open, and she got the feeling like she just wanted to run. She ran out a few meters, then stopped.

"_Rikku_!" Gippal yelled. She turned and looked at him as he ran out to her. His hand locker around her arm and he pulled her away from the middle of the field. Lightening was striking all around them, and she started to giggle. She wasn't afraid. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Gippal asked.

"I'm not scared anymore, Gippal!" she said. He frowned.

"What?" he asked.

"And… I think it's because I forgave you for hitting me with the lightening. Or, helping to hit me."

"Cid's Girl, that's not-."

"No, I know it sounds stupid, but I think it's the truth! I really think that now that I've forgiven you, I've made my peace with it, and it's just _gone_!"

"I think you just got used to it," Gippal said. Rikku suddenly hugged him, and he hugged her awkwardly. Rikku rolled her eyes. Apparently, Gippal was kissed more than he was hugged. But he rested his cheek on top of her head and she smiled. He then took her wrist and pulled her back to the tent roughly. "'I have to pee' my ass," he grumbled. But she could still hear. And she laughed brightly again. All she wanted to do now was go home and tell her dad that she would see him at the next assignment. And maybe take a walk in the sunshine.

**Liked it? Probably wasn't worth the wait. T_T Again, I'm sorry. I am determined to finish this. I **_**will**_** finish it within the next month! I love you all sooooo much! Review to let me know that I'm not entertaining an empty house? =D Did I mention how much I love you all? I love you. xD**

**P.S. I had to reread my own story to remember what happened. xD Isn't that sad?**


	8. Day 7

**Yaaay, another update after almost a year! Woohoo, yay! Last chapter I guess… my goodness… Thank you so much for reading! Review? :)**

**Day 7**

Rikku slowly opened her eyes and stretched out luxuriously in her sleeping bag, greeting the brand new day. At exactly 3 o'clock this afternoon, she would be leaving this horrible, super-awful, terrible place. Which wasn't so super-awful and terrible anymore. Just… still kind of horrible. She shut her eyes quickly as thunder crashed outside, causing the tent walls to light up momentarily, but her body didn't stiffen. She didn't get the urge to scream. Or anything. She just closed her eyes.

She had stayed up most of the night, entertaining herself with the feeling of listening to the boom of the thunder without having to be afraid. Now that she thought of it, thunder was something kind of amazing. The same thing that she harnessed into a machine came from the sky. It was a crazy idea to wrap around in her head, and she sat there thinking about watching the sparks fly from machina when they were being worked on.

"Morning," Gippal said. Rikku turned her head just in time to see him slip the eye patch over his right eyes. She rolled over and smiled at him for a second, then said,

"Can I ask you a… _personal_ question?" He shrugged as he pulled the thermal shirt over his head. She wondered if after a week, it was getting grimy, with probably no washes. But then she remembered how worn out her t-shirt and shorts must be from no washing, and how gross her hair was from absolutely no shower, and she let it go.

"Shoot," he said.

"Do you… have no eye under your eye patch, or is it just hurt really bad?" she asked in a quiet voice. The last thing she wanted to do on such a glorious day was make him mad, or bring back some painful memories. He started rolling up his sleeping bag.

"I still _have_ my eye… it just kind of makes people uncomfortable when they see it," he said, keeping his concentration on the sleeping bag.

"Couldn't you just keep your eye closed?" she asked. He stopped then and looked at her.

"Would you like to keep one eye closed and one eye open all the time?" he asked her with a grin. She experimented, closing her right eye and trying not to squeeze it to keep it shut.

"No," she said in bewilderment. "The other eye wants to go with it."

"Exactly," he said. She pressed her lips together. He finished rolling up the still damp sleeping bag and buckled it closed, setting it down with a proud look on his face. She thought for a second, trying to decide if her next question would sound terrible. She finally decided that if he said no, it would be no big deal.

"Can I see it?" she asked quietly again. She was still afraid to upset him. He glanced at her, his face bland.

"You don't want to see something like that, Cid's Girl," he said. She sat up on her knees and put her palms on her knees.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"Because chicks get freaked out by it," he answered uncomfortably, fiddling with the straps on his sleeping bag.

"Gippal," she started. He looked over at her again. "I would… never make fun of you, or be grossed out by it." She shrugged. "I couldn't treat you that way." He pursed his lips and stared at the ground.

His eye flicked over to her again when she put her hands on the ground and crawled over to him. He didn't try to stop her when she hooked her thumb under the leather black cord that held the patch to his face. But he squeezed his eyes shut as soon as she slipped it from off. The first thing she noticed was an almost luminescent white line going from near the bridge of his nose to the corner of his eye, near his temple. A scar. She put her finger on the line closer to his nose and felt how it rose up against his skin. "Look at me," she said. He only opened his left eye and looked at her, as if that's what she meant. She traced the white line on the other side of his eye. Whatever it had been, it had made a clean scratch. Maybe a piece of glass, or metal. "Both eyes," she clarified. She felt him heave a sigh. But he still didn't say anything in protest. He just slowly opened his right eye. It was a light blue, which was odd in contrast to his other eye, but it still had the Al Bhed swirl in it. The swirl was interrupted by a thin clear line, going right through his eye. The eye was glazed over with a cloudy look. His right eye didn't focus on her, but the left one was watching her intently. Obviously afraid she might coil away and toss the eye patch back at him. But she wasn't going to do anything like that. She just tilted her head and watched as his left eye moved, but the other one stayed where it was. She ran her hand down his temple to his jaw in a reassuring way. They both sat there, watching each other for about a minute or so. Then, Rikku settled back down onto her heels and handed him back his eye patch without a word, still looking at him. She knew at this point that if she made a wrong move, something would shatter between them. Even if she looked away, he would think she was uncomfortable, and she would hardly be able to convince him otherwise. He nervously took it back, and slid it quickly onto his head. He took a deep breath when it was where it should be again.

"Sorry… I should've done more to stop you," he said, adjusting the strap a bit. She shook her head.

"I told you I wouldn't be grossed out," she said. "And I wasn't." She just shrugged her shoulders. Gippal stared at her for a second, looking like he wanted to say something, but he just chuckled a bit and looked away from her.

"So, what are we going to do today?" he asked, both of them shaking off the intensity of the last few minutes.

"We can go for a walk," she suggested. Not that there was much else to do out in the Thunder Plains. "I'll have to take down the tent at some point today…" she grumbled to herself. She was amazed that Nere's tent placement had survived all week.

"I can help you with that," he replied.

"Oh, good, I've got a big strong guy to help me put away my tent," she said with a grin.

"Well, there's no way you could have put this tent up all by yourself. Who helped you?" Gippal asked, flicking the ceiling of the tent and watching it bounce back and forth a few times. Rikku blushed, thinking of the kiss that followed the construction.

"Nere…" she said. There was a moment of silence between them, and they both found something in the tent to occupy themselves.

"Did you really mean that yesterday?" Gippal asked. She was tracing curlicues into the ground, lost in her thoughts.

"Did I mean what?" she asked. He twisted his mouth up for a second.

"Uh, never mind. Hey, why don't you pack up your things, then we'll go for a walk, and then we can pull down the tent when we get back," Gippal said. Rikku pulled out a box of cereal. The last one of the week. She poured some Fruity Pebbles into her hand and offered some to Gippal. He held out his hand and she tipped some into it.

"We should walk all the way to the edge of Macalania!" she suggested with her mouth full of the colorful cereal.

"You sure you wanna go out that long?" Gippal asked, eating his own pebbles one by one. And by color.

"I _told_you. I'm not scared anymore!" she said excitedly. Gippal gave her a look. "You don't believe me, do you?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I can't believe that something as little as saying you 'forgive me' can make a lifetime of fear go away," Gippal said.

"Logic, logic, logic," Rikku said, shaking her head. She had to admit, it was a little far-fetched to her. She was convinced that this was something she was going to have to deal with for the rest of her life, never being able to comfort her children in a storm, or have a kiss in the rain, or anything like that. But she just was… _free_. It may have seemed like something stupid to maybe any old person. But she felt like there was a sky-full of new opportunities out there for her, just because she had overcome one fear.

"You better believe it," Gippal answered. "There must be something else."

"Well, there _isn't_." She had somehow felt the closure when she said that she had forgiven him. The truth was that she had been holding it against Brother and Gippal for a long time. She knew she had already forgiven Brother, because, well, he was family. She couldn't stay mad at him forever. But when Gippal left soon after, she never got the chance to forgive him. Or bother to. She just knew that when he left, she was still as mad as ever at him, and she'd hoped he wouldn't come back to torment her.

"Then you're faking it."

"I am _not_ faking it. If I _could_ fake it, I would have been faking it a few weeks ago when I was stuck in that storm on the Highroad."

"You know, now that I think about it, I do remember that storm when it rolled into Djose."

"Yeah! It was scary, wasn't it?" Rikku started to tie her hair up. It was absolutely disgusting, but every time she went outside, it got kind of wet, and you couldn't tell how greasy it was for another day.

"Well, seeing as I was snuggled up in my bed… not really." Rikku glowered at him.

"Well, that's because you were in a bed. Meanie."

"How did you get out of that jam?" Gippal asked, tugging his boots onto his feet. Rikku did the same with her boots.

"Um… Nere came and got me by the ruins," Rikku said sheepishly. She felt awkward talking about Nere to Gippal when she had just told Gippal yesterday that he was only a replacement for him.

"_Spira_! What _else_can that guy do?" Gippal asked. Rikku smiled as she started to tie a bow in her laces.

"I think the question is what can he _not_ do?" she corrected him.

"Hmm," Gippal grunted, unzipping the tent.

The cold air rushed into the tent and they both crawled out. Rikku zippered up the tent behind them and then they started to walk. "What time is it?" Gippal asked, stretching his arms above his head.

"It's, like… 8 AM," she said. Out here, you always had to clarify whether it was AM or PM, because it was always so dark. "You know, I wonder what this place would look like if the sky would just _clear up_." The lightening towers always looked kind of eerie in the darkness, but what if it was bright and sunny? Would they just look like a couple old towers? And the hills might actually grow some plants on them with some sun.

"That'll _never_happen," Gippal answered.

"How are you so sure?"

"Because… Spira would be going topsy-turvy if it did," Gippal said. "Something would have to be seriously wrong."

"Or maybe seriously _good_. Because the sun would be shining!" Rikku did a little dance, thinking about what it would be like to be standing there when all of a sudden, the sun started to stream out of the sky over the Thunder Plains. Gippal smiled.

"You know, Cid's Girl, if that ever happens, I hope I'm standing right next to you," he said. Rikku bit her bottom lip and smiled at him.

"Me too," she agreed quietly. "Wouldn't you love to be on Bikanel Desert right now, though?" she asked, knowing that her skin must be icy to the touch. But she had grown accustomed to it in the past week.

"Hell no," Gippal said. Rikku glanced up at him. Every Al Bhed loves Bikanel Desert. Spira is so cold compared to it.

"Why not?"

"Because that place was like a cage."

"It was _not_ a cage. It was _Home_," Rikku protested.

"I know it was Home. I mean, I was grateful to have somewhere that I could be equal. But then again, we were all just _stuck_ there. And it's not like we were even trying to leave. I remembered my parents used to sit at home and just say, 'Well, there's nothing that _we_can do about it'," Gippal said. He looked down at the ground. "I felt helpless there." He straightened up again. "That's why I went to join the Crimson Squad." He turned to her. "How did you get off Bikanel Island?" Rikku scuffed her foot in the mud.

"It wasn't very interesting. Pops got us a license to go into these underwater ruins and see if we could get any power from it, so I left. And then they sent me off to go catch Yunie, and…" She grinned up at him. "Nothing interesting like you, I bet."

"You have no idea," Gippal grumbled. "Well… I think kicking Sin's ass is pretty interesting."

"Yeah, but that's not how I got off Bikanel."

"It sure made it so you wouldn't have to ever go back." Rikku thought. Gippal had still been in the Crimson Squad when home was attacked. If it wasn't, he probably would have made the Machine Faction right after he was out of the Crimson Squad, just so he wouldn't have to go to Home.

"There's nothing wrong with going home," Rikku said, smiling through the rain. Gippal just shrugged. The only problem was that there was no home to go back to now. The only thing that held all the Al Bhed together was gone, and everyone was so spread out, it was hard to call them anything together anymore except a race.

They came to the shelter halfway through after about an hour and sat down on the dry ground.

"So, Yuna… What's she been up to?" Gippal asked.

"Well…" Rikku drew a sad face in the ground. "That's what bugs me, y'know?"

"No, I don't know, that's why I asked," Gippal said. Rikku sneered at him.

"It's like… everyone's getting what they want lately, right? … Because Sin's gone?" Rikku said, looking up at the sky.

"Right," Gippal said happily.

"Yeah, well… Yuna's the one who gave everyone that opportunity, but she's doesn't get to do anything that she wants to do," Rikku continued. Gippal tilted his head as he waited for her to continue. "I mean… every time I visit Besaid, she can only talk to me for about ten minutes at a time, because Wakka comes and chases her off to some stupid meeting with someone who doesn't like what's happening to Spira. As if it's her problem!"

"Well… everyone seems to think she's also responsible for what is going to happen to Spira, because she brought on this… this _eternal calm_," Gippal said. "If I didn't know any better, I probably would go cryin' to her too," he added, settling down more comfortably against the shelter's wall. Rikku went on without an answer.

"And every day, some new kid who's either in the Youth League or New Yevon comes and asks her to join their group, or some hot-shot asks her to marry their son. And every time, she says no, because she just loves Tidus so much that she can't marry someone else, or think about anyone else, and she's too important to _everyone_ to take sides, but they still don't get the picture. And it just makes me _so mad_ that someday, I'm just going to kidnap her and we'll go somewhere else! We'll go somewhere where they can't find her anymore, and for the first time since she brought the Calm, she can do something _she_wants to do!" Rikku yelled. She was breathing heavily once she finished. She dropped her hands, which she had been using to emphasize her points. "Why can't everyone just get along, anyway?"

"It's not the way Spira works, kid," Gippal replied quietly. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her over to him. She put her head on his chest and closed her eyes. "Think of it this way… these things have a way of sorting themselves out. But you can't change the fact that people are always gonna to disagree. If they didn't disagree, we just wouldn't progress, now would we?"

"No, we wouldn't," Rikku agreed slowly and childishly.

"Right, so don't you cry," he said.

"I wasn't _crying_," Rikku said, pulling herself off of him.

"I know," he said with such tenderness in his voice that Rikku had to look out into the Thunder Plains. They were quiet for a few seconds.

"Hey… is that a ray of sunshine there?" she asked.

"Where?" Gippal asked.

"_There_!" she said, pointing. He looked closer, and she jumped up and ran the other way.

"Hey!" he yelled and started to chase after her. She screamed and laughed and tried to outrun him. She looked over her shoulder and saw that he was closing in on her. She tried to run faster, but they both knew that she would be caught. Even so, she put up her best fight. Her little legs ran as fast as they could. But still, Gippal was taller, and therefore, he caught up with her with no problem at all. Gippal tackled her to the ground, the both of them landing in a particularly soggy patch of mud.

"Oh, gross!" Rikku yelled while laughing. They were both completely covered in it. Gippal lifted his body out of the mud on his hands and looked down at her.

"You look comfortable down there," he said.

"Yes, I am actually, I should have slept in mud the whole time I was here," she said, stretching her legs out in the mud. He just smiled down at her. She wasn't sure what to do. Here they were, lying in the mud, with Gippal looming over her, and Rikku felt her resolve to never kiss him again slipping away. Her heart pounded faster as lightning illuminated his face. They were both steadily breathing, or their breaths were coming faster at the same pace. She reached up and ran her fingers over his cheek, making new lines of mud there. Despite how many times they had laughed during the walk, the intensity of that morning when she had taken off his eye patch was still hanging around the pair. No matter how much she tried to tell herself they were just friends, the electricity was undeniable by now. She still couldn't fathom how she had gone from hating him so much to being so attracted to him in one week, but, here they were. Lying in the mud.

And just like that, the heat was gone. But then Rikku realized it was only because he had hoisted himself off the ground and was holding his hand out to help her up. Her face felt warm, and her stomach was turning over and over in protest and nerves and… She pressed her lips together and helped herself up. He waved his hand at her, and they walked in silence for a few minutes. It was awkward. They knew it was. Gippal was probably trying to think of something to say. But Rikku couldn't even think. There was just a storm of clouds swirling through her head.

"What was that?" she finally blurted out. Nothing she could do about it at this point.

"Thunder?" he suggested.

"No… in the mud…"

"Oh. I dunno," Gippal said with a careless shrug.

"You 'dunno'," Rikku repeated.

"Yeah." Okay, he was just asking for her to punch him now.

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Hey, I'm not going to get tangled up with you when all you want is to get back to Nere."

"That's not-."

"It _is_true. You said so yourself yesterday. You're just trying to screw with me," Gippal said, turning away from her.

"I'm _not_!" she nearly screamed. Thunder crashed nearby, but she was too distracted to jump, or shriek.

"You _are_! Yesterday you told me you just want to be friends, and today you're trying to drag me into the mud with you!" Gippal said, turning back and looking her straight in the eye.

"I… you made me fall in the mud! You dragged me down in it!"

"Rikku, let me tell you something about how things work. If you want to be with someone, then you tell them. If you just want to be friends, you tell them," Gippal said, advancing on her.

"I _do_want to be friends with you, you just make it really hard!" Rikku screeched.

"_You_make it hard!" Gippal yelled back.

"I don't do _anything_to you!" Rikku said, crossing her arms.

"Are you _kidding_me?" Gippal replied.

"No, I'm _not_!" Rikku said. "It's you, you're always just flirting away like it's no big deal, well, it _is_!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't take me so seriously."

"Then you shouldn't take _me_ so seriously."

"After all, you have Nere," Gippal said with a sarcastic smile.

"Right. And – who do you have, Gippal?" Rikku asked. He pursed his lips and stared her down.

"I don't need anybody."

"Whatever, I'm sure you don't, that's why you just had to stay and look after me after your _entire_ _team_left," Rikku said, waving her hand. "Thanks for helping me out this week; I can pull down the tent by myself."

"But… Rikku-."

"You can just grab your sleeping bag and leave," Rikku said.

"No, let me help you," Gippal said pathetically behind her as she kept walking.

"You've helped enough."

"What in Spira did you expect me to do back there?" he said, his anger flaring again. "Did you expect me to kiss you?"

"Actually, I did," Rikku said, turning to face him. No point in trying to hide it.

"But _why_?"

"I… I don't know. I was just expecting it."

"Rikku, when you tell me you don't plan on kissing me again, I'm not going to go for it," Gippal stated. "You gotta stop looking at the world like it's a fantasy." Rikku looked down at her boots. Tears pricked her eyes. She couldn't take back what she said to him yesterday. She should have known that it would come back to her. The thunder clapped around her, but it didn't seem to come near her anymore. Thunder must be able to smell fear.

"What would we do without fantasies?" she asked. After a few moments, Gippal walked over so he was right in front of her.

"If you really want, I could kiss you now," Gippal said. Rikku couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Nah, the moment's gone," she said. He smiled at her. She looked up at him. "I'm sorry about saying you were replacement. The truth is that… I really did want to kiss you," she said nervously.

"Me too," Gippal said. They subconsciously started walking back to the tent, since it was already two o'clock. Gippal's hand touched hers, and she realized after a second that it was intentional, because it stayed there for a few moments until Rikku pushed against it with her own, and he took her hand in his. They walked back to the tent in comfortable silence.

Gippal helped her take down the tent as promised, and it was already 3:30 by the time they were done. Rikku was reminded how hard it was to put up the tent the first time, because the thing was flying around with the wind. It was a particularly bad day in the Thunder Plains that first day with the wind and rain, and all she could think while she was burying the stakes into the ground was that she just wanted to turn around and say she couldn't do it. But the weird thing was that Rikku didn't want to leave yet. This had just… been home for a week, oddly enough. She wasn't about to make a yearly trip to the Thunder Plains, but she knew she would come back there sometime. She glanced over at Gippal, who was shoving the last mud covered stake into the bag. It seemed like he was talking to it, commanding it to get in the bag… or else. She smiled and wondered if she would have gone the rest of her life not being friends with him if she had never come out here. Probably. Nothing else would have thrown them together. Then again, she didn't _have _to talk to him that week. She could have just avoided him, and he probably would have avoided her too. Maybe after that first meeting, she just… wanted to see him? Her face contorted as she once again tried to figure out the inspiration she had to even continue to meet him, and walk with him.

She turned to him and smiled brightly, and they walked into Guadosalam. People gave them strange looks. Which, they must have looked strange. On top of not having really bathed for a week, they also were covered in mud that even the rain couldn't push off their skin and clothes. Rikku giggled to Gippal at their audience's looks as they left the small town and walked out to the Moonflow banks. She could see the airship in the distance, and Brother looking around for her anxiously. Well, at least she had been missed. She turned to Gippal.

"Well… what are you gonna do now?" she asked.

"It's back to Djose for me," he answered glumly. She frowned. He didn't sound the least bit happy to be out of the barren Thunder Plains. "You?"

"I'm going to go rub in my pop's face that I get to join the team again," she said triumphantly. Gippal laughed.

"I would love to see that," Gippal said. "Come visit me in Djose sometime?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, smiling at him. They were silent, but neither was willing to take the first step away. They both inched toward each other on their toes a few times, but eventually, both settled down on their heels. "Well… bye," she said, raising her gloved hand in a wave. Gippal waved back with his other hand in his pocket, and she turned away. She quickly walked over to the airship, keeping her head down and weaving through people. Brother saw her and burst out laughing at the pathetic state she was in.

"Mission _failed_?" he asked.

"Actually, you'll be happy to know that the mental scar you inflicted on me has been healed, thank you very much, and you'll be seeing me in many more fiascos with the _team_," Rikku said, kicking up the sand of the Moonflow banks up at him. The Moonflow seemed to be rejuvenating her to her usual sassy self as each second went by. He spluttered after her as she climbed onto the ship. She ran through the first hall and banged up the metal steps up to the bridge. Cid saw her emerge through the hole and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Rikku," he said happily, encasing her in a hug. He breathed in. "You smell terrible," he said quietly to her.

"I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah, Pops. I know I stink."

"Oh, well, as long as you know." Cid pulled away to take a good look at her. "Why don't you go get cleaned up? We're leaving right away, and you can spend a night in your own bed tonight," he said. Rikku smiled up at him. Even though her dad was stuck in medieval times, Rikku sometimes knew she wouldn't trade him.

"Thanks, Dad. That sounds great," she said, hugging herself to him again. She let go of him and started of towards the hallway that led to the quarters.

"Rik!" Cid called after her.

"Yeah?" Rikku called over her shoulder, stopping her steps.

"You didn't give that other team any trouble, did you?" Cid asked, loud enough so the entire bridge could hear. Rikku rolled her eyes and turned all the way around.

"Well, Pops, I did manage to short circuit that one tower around the middle, you know, the part where it's like, a _really_long way until the next tower, but don't worry, I think I fixed it. Not sure though," Rikku said. She quickly turned away and scurried off down the hall, snickering to herself about what might be going through Cid's head right now. She stood on her toes and retrieved the key to her small room on the airship on the doorframe and tried to aim it the correct way.

"Rikku!" Rikku's heart leapt. She turned and smiled, dropping the arm with the key held in it.

"Nere," she said happily. He rushed over to her and held his arms out. "Whoa," she said, backing up a step with her hands out. "You do _not_ want to hug me right now," she said.

"Why not?" Nere asked.

"Because apparently, I smell like a dead Lupus. A _long dead_Lupus," Rikku said, dropping her arms. Nere grinned and then, surprisingly, leaned down and kissed her mud-smeared cheek.

"After this week, you could smell like ten dead Lupus and I wouldn't care," he said. She grinned and bit her bottom lip. Ah, Nere. Perfect Nere.

"Whatever, I'm still going to take a shower –a _long_shower- and we can finish this conversation when I get back, kay?" she said, poking his chest with her finger.

"Got it," Nere said. He smiled one last time at her and then walked away. She sighed heavily and watched him go, then turned away. She opened the door and threw all her stuff on the floor, then sat down on the bed.

She let her eyes wander around the makeshift bedroom and wondered if Gippal was on a Shoopuf on his way back to Djose by now. She pulled off her muddy boots and dragged herself off the bed, then started the water in the bathroom. She couldn't imagine Gippal riding on a Shoopuf. At the last second, she decided she'd much rather take a relaxing bath. She turned the water up as hot as her chilled skin could take, and then pushed the plug down so it could fill up. She left the bathroom and sat on the bed again, looking in the mirror. Her clothes were definitely ruined. She would have to get new ones. Or maybe Yuna knew some spell that could power wash it. She flopped back on her bed and waited for the tub to fill. The ship rumbled as it flew through the sky. It almost sounded like… thunder.

…_Fin…_


End file.
